Contact: John Cones
310/477-6842
http://www.filmfinanceattorney.com
JOHN CONES BIOGRAPHY
John Cones is a securities/entertainment attorney who practiced in Los Angeles for 23 years advising independent feature film producers and others on matters relating to investor financing of feature film and other entertainment projects. For a seven year period after leaving LA, he traveled throughout the country on a national “film finance” lecture tour for local groups of independent filmmakers. He is currently based in Houston. He has produced a series of webinars on film finance related topics that are available through his website (filmfinanceattorney.com), along with 115 sample film industry contracts, the monograph 337 Reported Business Practices of the Major Studio/Distributors and the Business and Legal Affairs Checklist.
He has prepared or participated in the preparation of business plans and/or the required securities disclosure documents, along with Blue Sky compliance for more than 275 such securities offerings of all kinds during his 32 year securities law career, including public and private production-money offerings for feature films, television pilots, documentaries, infomercials, live stage plays and Internet companies. His clients have produced or distributed some 62 feature and documentary films with funds raised through such investor offerings, with offering proceeds ranging from $100,000 to $10,000,000. Other such offerings have been conducted for development and distribution funding. In a broader sense, Mr. Cones also works with entrepreneurs on investor financing of business startups.
Mr. Cones has lectured more than 365 times to an aggregate audience of approximately 5,600 on topics relating to film finance for the American Film Institute, the UCLA graduate level Independent Producers Program, UCLA Extension, The USC Cinema/TV School, the USC Cinema/TV Alumni Association, IFP/West, American University (Washington, D.C.), the Nashville Bar Association, Cal Western School of Law, The University of Texas Entertainment Law Institute, North Carolina School of the Arts, California Lawyers for the Arts, Columbia College Hollywood and other film industry organizations.
In addition to some 43 articles and 19 essays relating to the film business and legal affairs, he has authored sixteen (16) books on related topics including Introduction to the Film Industry – A Guide for Students, Filmmakers and Scholars, Dictionary of Film Finance and Distribution, Film Industry Contracts, 43 Ways to Finance Your Feature Film, The Feature Film Distribution Deal, Business Plans for Filmmakers, Hollywood Wars, Patterns of Bias in Motion Picture Content and Motion Picture Biographies – The Hollywood Spin on Historical Figures. He maintains a web site at http://www.filmfinanceattorney.com. More than 30 of his articles on film finance or business and legal affairs issues appear online at his website.
In 2021, the Entertainment Law Institute of the State Bar of Texas honored Mr. Cones with its annual Texas Star Award for his contributions to the field of entertainment law. He earned his B.S. degree in Communications at the University of Texas at Austin in 1967 and his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree at the UT Austin School of Law in 1974. He is a member of the California and Texas bar associations.
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Always great to see you, John. Your expertise and experience is a huge asset to this community.
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Hi John W. Cones - fantastic to meet you! Excited to have another go-to for legal questions.
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Wow, IMPRESSIVE resume, John W. Cones! I'll definitely keep you in mind for an entertainment attorney.